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Michigan has a rich legacy of automotive assets that are a bedrock of the state’s economy. This report examines the extensive supply chain that supports one assembly plant – Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP) in Wayne County, Michigan. This plant employs 5,000 people building the latest in fuel efficient vehicles, and it also supports another 19,000 jobs in the state’s economy (as well as another 24,000 in the rest of the nation). Many of these jobs are in small manufacturing firms that supply parts and services to the plant. Fully one-third of MAP’s $3 billion in annual purchases of parts and materials is spent in Michigan.

Further, MAP represents the latest in advanced manufacturing with flexible assembly lines capable of manufacturing different vehicle models with varying configurations. With both the technology that is built into vehicles and the technology used in this advanced manufacturing plant, MAP creates new demands for innovation, research and development and high technology employment.